


Mages and Knights

by xXUndertale_loverXx



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (?), Abuse, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Apprentice Frisk, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Haphephobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Loneliness, M/M, Mage Sans, Mages and Knights, Magical Exhaustion, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ptincess Patricia (OC), Separation Anxiety, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Verbal Abuse, knight papyrus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-02-01 20:18:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12712230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXUndertale_loverXx/pseuds/xXUndertale_loverXx
Summary: Sans, the royal mage, who has formerly been a respected member of the royal court has been exiled from the holy land of _________________ (I don't have a name for the kingdom yet :(  ) to spend the rest of his days in a small stone tower at the edge of the kingdom. Many people despise the mage for what he has done to the king's youngest daughter, Patricia, who has always been adored by all of the kingdom's citicens.Papyrus, a young, dutiful royal knight finds the tower of the mage and tries to free the princess but he doesn't know any of the secrets the tower conceals.





	1. The Tower of The Mage

**Author's Note:**

> I like my summary. Sure sounds muuhssteeeeriouuuus, doesn't it?
> 
> I came up with the AU myself. All credits to me. [Here](https://xundertaleloverx.tumblr.com) is my Tumblr if you want to find out more about the AU.

Papyrus was ready. He was ready to be the knight in shining armour! His very first real mission (running errands doesn't count) was saving the king's youngest daughter, Patricia. The skeleton marched to where he assumed that the princess was being held captive. It was a big old cobble stone tower. Its exterior was withered from the sheer magnitude of time it must have stood there, but it still stood tall and proud, reaching for the sky. The tower belonged to nobody less than the dark mage, a mysterious monster that was said to be a lunatic and dangerous criminal. Papyrus approached the heavy wooden door warily, fearing the mage maybe just a tiny bit, standing there for a good five minutes, giving himself a pep talk before he finally mustered up the courage to knock on the old wooden door. The loud sound carried through the otherwise silent valley, echoing eerily. Papyrus was about to turn and run away when he heard a voice from inside the tower. 

 

"w-who's there?" A nervous masculine voice answered his knock. The stutter gave Papyrus enough courage to recite the exact words he was taught to use.

 

"I'm a royal knight and here to free the captured princess, princess Patricia. Open the door if you want to live." Papyrus's voice was stern and gave no room for arguments. He inwardly patted his back for his diplomatic approach (Yes. This approach was referred as diplomatic under royal knights since it didn't involve killing the enemy on sight or better not-sight.).

 

"uh... you can't have her." The shaky voice answered insecurely. Papyrus felt a sudden wave of anger. _How dare this stupid mage argument?!_

 

"That's it. I'm coming in!!" Papyrus shouted and took a few steps back. He ran against the door, tearing it down with the force of his charge. There was a sudden flash of blue. He looked around, finding himself alone in the room. He stood up, during his armour off and looked around the small room. It seemed impersonal save for the shoes lined up next to the entrance. One pair of tiny brown boots and a pair of bigger but still small black boots. That indicated that there were at least two people living in this building. Since the mage was one of them he either had tiny feet or was fairly short. A long wooden stairwell lead upstairs and there was a green door which was almost hidden by the shadow the stairwell cast. Papyrus ignored the door in favour of following the princess-trapped-in-a-tower-by-some-evil-person cliché. He climbed the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible (which wasn't very quiet since he was wearing his battle armour).


	2. The protagonists meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'll understand more from the mage's point of view... Have fun with that because he seems a little . . . b r o k e n . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Sans POV

 

_Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck FUCK! There's a fucking royal knight who just broke into my house and he's gonna kill me because he thinks I did all the bad things Patricia actually did and that I kidnapped her but I didn't because the king sent her to me because she keeps killing people and he blamed it on me and now everybody hates me and there's a bounty on my head and nooooooooooooo!_ Sans heard a clanking noise coming from behind the wooden door. Whoever was approaching - _Most likely the royal knight!!_ \- was coming up the stairs slowly, probably trying to be quiet. Sans quickly retreated a few steps, wincing as he bumped against the frame of his bed and pulled up his hood to cover his anxious expression. It wouldn't do to let anyone see what he had become.

"Princess Patricia? I, the great Papyrus has come here to save you!" The knight shouted loudly, probably trying to sound heroic. It was such bad luck that he had come upstairs. Sans couldn't hear any footsteps anymore. That meant the guard had to be just outside his room. He watched in horror as the doorknob turned to the left and the door swung inwards slowly. A tall and lean skeleton in battle armour walked in, slowly closing the door, facing it. Sans tried to retreat further but his bed wouldn't allow him to. He was trembling in fear and heard his bones click against each other from the force of it, making an odd rattling noise. Papyrus turned around and looked the room over. His eyes stayed trained on Sans' small form, who was shaking in his too big navy blue cloak which had pale yellow runes written on it which were swirling around on the cloth, driven by Sans' distressed magic. His hood was up so the other wouldn't be able to see his face but that would've been Sans' smallest problem right then. He tried to call on his magic but it didn't work in his distressed state.

"Who are you and where is princess Patricia?" The knight inquired loudly. Sans stared up at the knight in fear, still shaking before reminding himself who he was. Wait... No. Who he had been. He had been a very powerful mage but now he was just a criminal. Sans steeled himself and forced himself to stop shaking, looking at the knight.

"i am the mage." Sans managed to say in a steady voice. He inwardly cringed. Ugh. How he hated that name that the king had given him.

"So. You are the one who keeps causing ruckus. But..." The knight said, scanning Sans' figure. "You look to hardly be a kid." He stated, looking at him in amusement. Sans' eye sockets blazed flamingly cyan in silent anger.

"i. am not. a. c h i l d ." Sans' voice trembled slightly with barely restrained anger. Anger was much better than fear. Papyrus flinched very slightly, almost not noticeable but Sans noticed it.

"I don't care. Give me the princess, jerk!" Papyrus shouted, failing at keeping up his 'manners' in his fury. He just wanted the princess and then get out of there. A small shudder ran through Sans' frame but he steeled himself, looking the knight directly in the eyes. He could tell that this was a good person, even if he was a hothead.

"no. i can't." Sans admitted, his voice a tad quieter than before. He wrung his hands together nervously. He knew they both didn't want to fight but it could be possible that Papyrus didn't know he didn't want to fight.

"Why not?!!" Papyrus shouted loudly. Sans forced himself to calm down and keep his voice even. He knew this. It was an intimidation tactic. The knight wouldn't kill him. He won't give in to the fear. He won't give... damnit.

"i didn't kidnap her. she was brought to me." Sans answered, cursing his own mouth. He just knew the knight wouldn't believe him. Nobody ever believed him.

"As if!!!" Papyrus shouted enraged, confirming Sans' suspicions. The knight walked towards him, drawing his sword, an angry expression on his face. Sans flinched back hard, suddenly wavering in his belief that the other won't hurt him. Nobody ever tried to spare him. Why would this Papyrus be different?

"t-the king b-brought her to me. i didn't d-do anything." Sans rushed out, starting to tremble violently. He couldn't focus he was so damn terrified! He didn't like swords. They were always bad.

This guy is going to kill me.

No he won't! He's nice!

No he'll dust me and trample my dust in the ground and Frisk will... Frisk!

"H-hey. What's wrong with you?" Papyrus asked, voice suddenly soft. Sans flinched back hard as Papyrus reached out, remembering another hand reaching for him exactly like that.

"i... i..." Sans stammered, feeling tears in his eye sockets. He hadn't been that terrified since the mob had chased him off. Horrific memories resurfaced from the mob which had beat him to the ground only to pick him up and do it all over again. Sans felt his legs give out and fell to his knees, landing hard on the ground as his eye lights vanished, his mind showing him all kinds of horrific pictures.

"M-mage?" The knight certainly sounded concerned now. _He_ had done as if he were concerned too. His mind supported helpfully. Sans started crying silently, curling in on himself. His breath came in short gasps which weren't really effective for breathing.

"W-what's wrong?" Papyrus asked. He sheathed his sword and walked towards Sans. The short skeleton flinched back, looking up from his hunched over position.

"l-l-leave me a-alone." Sans choked out between sobs. Papyrus set down his helmet and laid his sword next to it, hoping to be less intimidating without them. He approached Sans again who only let out a quiet whimper, trying to vanish into the navy-coloured plush carpet lying around his bed.

"Mage?" Papyrus asked softly, placing a hand on Sans' shoulder. The shorter skeleton looked up at the other anxiously.

"y-you've come to k-kill me, r-right?" Sans asked softly, his tiny body trembling viciously, conveying his fright.

"What? No! I would never kill someone!... Are you scared of me?" Papyrus asked incredulously. Sans nodded meakly, gripping onto his sleeves tightly.

"B-but you're the Mage! You're so powerful!!" Papyrus voiced disbelievingly. Sans didn't answer. He just pulled his legs to his chest and hugged them, hiding his face. He stared at his hands which were anxiously fisting the soft, navy fabric of his robe. The lines on the fabric were a pale yellow, almost white.

"What happened to you?" Papyrus's voice sounded gentle. Sans heard a soft thump and looked to his right where the knight had sat down beside him, legs crossed. The shorter skeleton wiped his eye sockets from the magical tears with his too big sleeve. His face was still shadowed and Papyrus eyed him curiously. After a while of silence Papyrus sighed.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" Sans shook his head. He felt the tight knot in his soul ease up a bit, the lines on his clothing reacting by getting a bit brighter. "So... What's your name?" Papyrus asked curiously. Nobody knew the name of the mage. He really wanted to find out.

"i am the mage." Sans stated indifferently, looking off to the side. He really didn't want to tell anyone his name. Papyrus looked confused.

"B-but you have to have a name!" Papyrus insisted, his voice gaining a passionate streak as he stared at Sans determinedly. Sans shrugged as if he didn't care but he did have to say that he was a bit amused. The lines on his cloak brightened.

"doesn't matter. i'm the royal mage and i have to identify myself with the title. i am nothing more than a powerful tool for the king." Sans explained, deciding to indulge the young knight. Papyrus gaped at him in shock but even then his determination didn't fade.

"But..." Sans cut him off with an exasperated sigh and held is hand out for the other to shake. Appearantly he would tell Papyrus his name anyways. The other was just so naive for a knight even if he tried to appear tough and the determination he seemed to radiate made him all the more cute. Also he didn't want to kill him. That alone was a huge plus.

"the name's sans." Sans answered his initial question. Papyrus shook his hand, introducing himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did I would really appreciate it if you left me a Kudos or a comment. I really love comments and can't wait to read what you think.
> 
> Have a nice day! ^^


	3. Lots and lots of questions (and sighs)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand here we have: 
> 
> Frisk!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

"Daddy! Where are you?" A small voice cried. Sans' skull snapped towards the door to his child, Frisk. He had found them in town half a year ago, nearly starved. Frisk now had tears running down their cheeks, a bruise on their right cheek. The lines on his robe tinted a pale green as he felt worry flood his soul. Frisk ran towards him and hugged him tightly, sobbing. Sans stroked their head and hugged them tightly.

"what happened, sweetie?" Sans cooed, trying to calm them down. Frisk clung to him, crying. Papyrus watched the exchange carefully.

"S-stupid Patricia hit m-me." Frisk sobbed, clinging to their father. Sans frowned. Papyrus perked up. Patricia was here after all. But she hit this little kid? And Sans was the father of said child? His skull swirled with questions.

"i talked with her about that already.... shh.... everything's alright..." Sans looked up at Papyrus. "could you maybe tal-"

"SLAAVEE!!!! COME HERE THIS INSTANT AND BRING ME DINNER!!!!!" An annoying voice cut the small skeleton off. Sans flinched, his cloak's lines tinting pale yellow and pried himself from Frisk, planting a little kiss on top of their head.

"i'll be back as soon as possible. why don't you make our guest a cup of tea, kid?" Sans suggested, standing up slowly. He shot a warning glance at Papyrus, nodding at Frisk. The meaning was simple. Harm the kid, you die. Frisk nodded and shot Sans a smile. He smiled back and left the room, hurrying down the steps. He rushed into the kitchen and took the meal he had actually cooked for himself and brought it down to Patricia's room. Sans unlocked the door, knocked twice and the door was nearly ripped off the hinges by Patricia. He startled as the tray was ripped out of his hands by the moody teenager.

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!!" The door was slammed onto Sans' face and he recoiled, landing on the wooden floor. The short skeleton picked himself up and dusted off his robe, fixing his hood. Then he locked the room again, walked into the dining room and served dinner for Frisk who was sitting on the couch, idly chatting with the knight. They took the food thankfully.

"Dad? Where's your dinner?" Frisk asked, knowing that their dad didn't eat enough. Sans sighed and dragged a hand over his shadowed face. The threads on of his robe turned varying shades of blue but a few stayed pale yellow.

"uh... sweetie. dad doesn't need to eat that often." Sans explained lamely. Frisk stared at him irritatedly.

"No! You haven't eaten anything in two weeks." Frisk insisted determinedly but Sans just shrugged and turned to Papyrus.

"do you want anything?" Sans asked, ignoring Frisk. The knight shook his head.

"Why are you wearing a hood?" Papyrus asked. Sans sighed and sank into the couch cushions, already preparing him for the very real possibility that Papyrus won't like his answer.

"to hide my face." Sans explained and flinched when Papyrus gasped. Appearantly he hadn't been prepared enough. He sighed, closing his eye sockets. He could already feel the headache approaching.

"Why would one do something like that?" Papyrus queried incredulously. _They both ask too many questions._

"i look ugly." Sans explained simply, knowing that won't satisfy Papyrus either. It had just... slipped. Frisk shook their head furiously and he was worried it might fall off. Of course. Frisk doesn't want him trash-talking himself either.

"You're not ugly! Your face is a bit... special but you're not ugly." Frisk explained. Sans chuckled good-naturedly and ruffled their hair, almost all of the runes on his cloak now bright blue.

"I'm sure you don't look ugly." Papyrus insisted. Sans sighed, knowing they probably wouldn't leave him alone until he removed his hood. The short skeleton reached up and brushed the hood off his skull in one swift motion, revealing numerous of scars all over his face. He looked to the ground in shame, ready to face the harsh words. When none came he looked up to see literal stars in Papyrus's eye sockets.

"YOU LOOK SO COOL!!!" Papyrus shouted enthusiastically. Sans blushed a faint blue, the thread  going along his right arm tinting green. He had no idea how his face would look cool in any way but was kind of thankful not to be trash-talked for once.

"So. Now go get yourself something to eat, Dad." Frisk insisted. Sans sighed as all the strings turned blue again. He was sighing a lot today, wasn't he?

"m not feeling like eating anything, sweetie." Sans mumbled, closing his eye sockets. He just felt so tired. He could probably sleep for days.

"But Dad!" Frisk tried. Papyrus placed a hand on Sans' shoulder and pulled him closer a bit, whispering to the side of his skull where his ear would be if he had one.

"Your magic levels are incredibly low. It's a miracle that you're even alive to begin with with only one HP. Eat. You don't want your child to have to grow up without you, do you?" Sans gulped nervously and stood up, walking to the kitchen to prepare himself something to eat. He sunk to the floor and tried to keep his tears at bay, the lines on his clothing flickering between a very pale yellow and an extremely pale blue. After a short while he stood up and made himself a sandwich. Sans carried it to the couch and sat down between Frisk and Papyrus again, eating in silence.

"um... are you planning on taking patricia with you?" Sans felt something akin to hope for a second but squashed it down immediately. He couldn't risk the whole kingdom for his own comfort.

"No." Papyrus answered. Sans let out a shaky sigh, both relieved that there wasn't any danger to the kingdom and hopeless that his situation would ever get better.

"I also plan to head out right now. Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Sans and Frisk." Papyrus stated, standing up.

"save travels." Sans wished him tough his heart wasn't in it. He looked downtrodden since the knight had refused to take the princess with him.

"Bye!" Papyrus greeted. Both of them joined Papyrus on his walk to the door and waved him goodbye. Sans looked at the broken door.

"oh right... that's gonna need to be repaired..." Sans sighed and led Frisk inside. "so kiddo. it's pretty late. i think it's time for your bedtime story." Sans stated. Frisk nodded happily and rushed to their room to get ready for bed.

"SLAVEE!!!!!" Patricia howled. Sans groaned and walked into the basement to Patricia's room, the lines on his robe turning red in annoyance.

"I'M HUNGRY!!!!" Patricia shouted as loudly as she could. Sans sighed.

"you already had dinner." Sans reminded helpfully. Frisk came downstairs dressed in their PJ's.

"Dad? Can you please read me my bedtime story?" Frisk asked with the best puppy-dog eyes they could manage. Sans practically melted, his robe's lines turning bright orange and green and gave them a firm nod. He always liked to tell them stories.

"YOU MORON!!! GIVE ME FOOD!!!!" Patricia screamed. Sans pointedly ignored them and took Frisk's hand, leading them to their room. The kid dived under the covers and held a book out to him. The short skeleton chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking the book.

"fluffy bunny?" Sans asked amusedly. Frisk nodded and Sans started reading.

 

Sans finished reading their bedtime story and closed the book quietly. He smiled softly, his cloak's lines shining a bright green when he saw them asleep with a rare genuine smile on their face.

"goodnight, frisk." He whispered. Sans left the room and headed up to his own, yawning. He slipped out of his wide robe, the strings disappearing as soon as he laid it onto a chair. He carefully changed into his PJ's, careful not to snag the fabric on any of his cracks. He felt a tug at one of his cracks as a string got caught in it. He carefully removed the thread, wincing a bit. He finished changing and walked over to the bed. Sans stared at his book shelf, contemplating reading a bit. He decided to go to sleep immediately as a sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over him. The skeleton laid down and pulled his pillow close, hugging it tightly underneath his blanket cocoon. He sighed tiredly and closed his eye sockets, drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did I would really appreciate it if you left me a Kudos or a comment. I really love comments and can't wait to read what you think.
> 
> Have a nice day! ^^


	4. Some people are nice, some people... just... not.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus visits and gets a better picture of how Sans' life looks like.
> 
> Meanwhile Sans feels like shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Two days later, Sans was preparing breakfast, there was a knock on the door. He walked to the now fixed and magically reinforced door cautiously, anxiety radiating off him in waves.

"who's t-there?" Sans stuttered, anxiously pulling his green shirt tightly around himself.

"Papyrus, the great!" A familiar voice shouted. Sans chuckled and pushed the door open enough for Papyrus to slip through. The knight stepped inside and Sans quickly closed the door behind him.

"I have returned to see if you have been eating enough." Papyrus exclaimed. Sans looked at the floor guiltily. The knight sighed and deflated a bit.

"I suppose you haven't..."

"i-i'm currently making breakfast... do yo-you want some?" Sans stuttered out nervously. Papyrus shook his head.

"I already had breakfast. Go get your own." Sans nodded and made himself, Frisk and Patricia breakfast, though it was obvious that he didn't load his plate as much as Patricia's or even Frisk's. He sat down on the couch with Papyrus and Frisk before jumping up, having realised he hadn't fed Patricia yet. Sans teleported to the kitchen and snatched up Patricia's plate, teleporting to her room.

"h-here you g-go..." Sans stuttered, knowing he was too late to bring breakfast. Patricia rose from her bed, staring at Sans intimidatingly, making the small skeleton shiver in fear, despite the girl being much shorter than him.

"You. Are. Late." Patricia stood up, summoning a fireball. Sans eyed the fireball anxiously, trying to hold the plate still.

"i-i-i'm s-sorry, princess..." His voice was shaking with fear. Patricia snatched the plate away greedily and threw the fireball at Sans. The skeleton could have avoided the hit but took it anyways to avoid aggravating Patricia. He got hit square on the ribcage and fell to the floor with a loud thump, breaking at least one rib with a sickening crunch. He let out a pained gasp and hurriedly teleported away. Sans landed on the couch, having completely forgotten about Papyrus. He landed on the taller skeleton with an agonized grunt, making the taller yelp.

"Sans?" Papyrus asked hesitantly, cautiously.

"oww..." Sans mumbled and quickly scrambled off Papyrus, clutching his ribs through his singed and already blood-red shirt. His eye lights were hazy and unfocused and he felt like he was about to pass out.

"D-daddy?!" Frisk asked panicky.

"dun worry, sweetie..." Sans crumpled onto the ground with a surprised gasp and lost consciousness.

 

"Dad? Daddy? Please wake up... I can't do it without you..." A panicked voice called. Sans blinked open his eye sockets, letting out a pained groan.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Frisk asked, their eyes watery with barely restrained tears. Sans immediately felt guilty and the need to wipe that expression off their face.

"i-i'm okay, sweetie..." Sans ground out. "why don't you go make me some tea? i'll surely feel better." Frisk nodded and ran out of the room which Sans identified as his own as soon as his gaze landed on the giant bookwall on the right of his bed. Someone must have carried him upstairs. Frisk couldn't have done it. His eye lights stilled and rested on Papyrus who was standing at the edge of the bed, looking worried. The knight must've carried him upstairs.

"How can I help?" Papyrus asked confidently. The little mage thought for a moment, averting his gaze nervously.

"do you know healing magic?" Sans asked reluctantly, looking back up at the knight. He knew it wasn't as common as in the past to know healing magic but maybe a royal knight would know at least some... Papyrus nodded, making Sans sigh internally in relief.

"i think a few of my ribs are broken..." Sans admitted. He took off his shirt, wincing in pain, revealing his broken and battered ribcage. Three of his ribs were snapped clearly, grinding painfully with every sort of movement the short skeleton made. Everything else was covered in badly healed old cracks and breaks. Papyrus gasped in surprise but immediately started healing him. Sans flinched when Papyrus touched his ribs and squeezed his eye sockets shut in pain. The pain was soon replaced by the comforting, soothing warmth of healing magic. Sans sighed, relaxing a bit. It had been so long since somebody had made the effort to heal him. His broken ribs mended expertly, along with a few small newer cracks that were near them. It was over way too quickly as Papyrus drew back, the breaks having vanished almost completely, only leaving a faint line of scarring.

"thank you." Sans whispered, pulling his shirt back down. Frisk burst into the room, carrying a cup of tea carefully and handed it to Sans. The small skeleton briefly wondered how they had managed to move that fast without spilling anything but added it to his pile of questions he would likely never get an answer to.

"thanks, kiddo." Sans smiled at them and sipped at his tea, wincing slightly as it burned his ecto-tongue. Otherwise the tea was perfect. "it tastes great though it's a tad hot." He provided his constructive criticism. Frisk beamed at the compliment and hugged their dad.

"Only the best for the best..." Frisk murmured, too quiet for Papyrus to hear. Sans chuckled and hugged them back, thankfully not having to worry about his ribs. He kissed their forehead gently before letting them go.

"Do you need anything else, dad?" Frisk asked, ever the attentive child. Sans shook his head.

"He needs some food and a lot of rest, Frisk." Papyrus spoke up. Sans sighed, about to say that he was fine, really.

"Okay." Frisk dashed outside, probably running off to the kitchen. Sans sighed again, a faint genuine smile on his face.

"they're a good kid... nothing like me." Sans mumbled, feeling his stress-induced narcolepsy kick in.

"You are a good person, Sans. I may not know you for very long but so far you've been one of the kindest persons and easily the best father I have ever seen." Papyrus complimented genuinely. Sans covered his surely flushed cheek bones with his hands and rubbed them nervously. The knight chuckled.

"... thank you..." Sans whispered, looking off to the side.

"So... Why were some of your ribs cracked?" Papyrus asked tentatively. Sans flinched a bit and contemplated telling him.

"patricia." Sans whispered, as though afraid that the princess could hear him. He dropped his right hand to the hem of his cloak's sleeve,only to remember that he was still wearing his blood-soaked shirt.

"Patricia? But she's so nice?" Papyrus argumented. Sans let out a mirthless laugh.

"she's a demon in a human body." Sans replied, starting to massage circles into his left radius, sighing quietly. He let out a yawn.

"... Tired?" Papyrus asked, sitting on Sans' bed. The short skeleton nodded, silently glancing to the door. They waited in a companionable silence. Sans glanced up at the tall knight, feeling a flash of something in his soul. He looked down where his small hands fisted the fabric of his navy blanket nervously. The door opened and Frisk entered the room, balancing a plate of pasta carefully. They handed the plate to Sans, along with a spoon and a fork. The short skeleton took the first bite and hummed appreciatively. Frisk giggled, watching him eat. As soon as he had swallowed he set on to rate Frisk's cooking skills.

"hm... very delicious. you're getting good at it, kiddo." Sans smiled at them. "i think you could have used a tad less garlic but otherwise it's perfect." Sans continued eating, humming happily now and then. Frisk sat down on his bed next to him. The short skeleton handed his empty plate to Frisk along with the fork and spoon.

"thanks, kiddo." Sans yawned. "man, i'm tired."

"We'll leave you be. Come on, Frisk." Papyrus and Frisk left the room. Sans turned off the magical light with a snap of his fingers and laid down, staring at the dark ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did I would really appreciate it if you left me a Kudos or a comment. I really love comments and can't wait to read what you think.
> 
> Have a nice day! ^^


	5. Nightmares are bad, night terrors worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans (who else) has a night terror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And my spelling when I've been up too long the worst... (I tried to write 'night terprs' instead of 'night terrors'.................. twice.....) Please tell me if there are any grammatical errors. Thanks! ^^
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this very short chapter! ^^

_Sans stood in the village. How did I get here? Sans looked behind him. He saw an angry mob but that he was already used to. What really unsettled him was that every single one of them had princess Patricia's face. They simultaneously summoned a fireball. Oh no. Nononononono... Sans took that as his cue to run. He turned and sprinted in a random direction. Sans ran as fast as he could. His feet pounded on the stoney path, louder than they'd normally be. Every heaving breath he took stung in his non-existent lungs. He could only barely make out the shapes of the things he rushed by in his panic. Sans felt heat rush by as a fireball exploded to his right.  He knew he was close to his tower. His safe haven. He sped up a bit, sprinting through the rain that had started up seconds ago. He nearly slipped but caught himself, not wanting to deal with any injury. He dove to the right to avoid another fireball. He felt heat right behind him and barely had time to scream as the fireball exploded on his back. His vision wavered and he felt himself slip away into unconsciousness._

 

Sans startled awake with a loud gasp for air, shooting upright.

"oh stars..." Sans murmured, his eye lights failing to manifest because of his fear. Papyrus entered the room quietly with a glass of water, nearly dropping it when he caught sight of the short skeleton. Sans saw a blur come towards him, noticing he was crying. He quickly wiped the tears away only to be greeted by more.

"Sans? Are you alright?" Papyrus asked, voice carefully subdued as to not startle the shorter skeleton. Sans nodded.

"i-i'm fine..." Sans whispered, finally stopping to cry. Papyrus frowned, not believing the small skeleton for a second.

"You're clearly not fine." Papyrus insisted. Sans wiped his cheek bones.

"i'm fine." Sans insisted. "don't worry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did I would really appreciate it if you left me a Kudos or a comment. I really love comments and can't wait to read what you think.
> 
> Have a nice day! ^^


	6. Money = Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get some insight as to why Sans doesn't eat much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll enjoy this very short chapter! ^^

"do you want some tea?" Sans asked Papyrus who had stayed over the last two nights. There hadn't been any more 'accidents' involving Patricia and the short skeleton was glad about that. He had been eating more and his magic colour looked a bit more healthy. He would have to plead the king for more money for food since he had to sustain four people now. If it came to worst Gaster would have to give him money again. Sans shuddered. He really didn't want to think about that. A large hand grabbed his own. The short skeleton snapped out of his musings, flinching back violently. Papyrus was talking to him.

"Sans? Are you okay? You looked really troubled." Papyrus asked worriedly. Sans let out a weak chuckle.

"i'm fine." Sans answered, his shaky voice betraying his distress. Papyrus raised a brow ridge at him skeptically.

"You sound like you're about to cry... You're definitely not okay." Papyrus concluded. Stupid observant Papyrus. Sans sighed exasperatedly, scratching his left wrist.

"the king only gives me money for two people. he doesn't know about frisk and i don't want him to know about them..." Sans admitted quietly.

"that's why i eat so seldom." He explained, messing with his sleeves nervously. It wasn't entirely the truth. He did eat less because of the lack of money but he also just couldn't eat sometimes...

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Papyrus asked enthusiastically. "I make more than enough money to give you some!" He declared generously, patting Sans' back comfortingly. The shorter skeleton winced slightly, not used to physical contact at all. Maybe he did have haphephobia after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did I would really appreciate it if you left me a Kudos or a comment. I really love comments and can't wait to read what you think.
> 
> Have a nice day! ^^

**Author's Note:**

> This work will not be posted consistently. It is one of three works that will be uploaded if you, the reader, vote for it.  
> You can find the rules [here](https://xundertaleloverx.tumblr.com) on my Tumblr and [here](https://strawpoll.com/gsxf9s9k) is the link to the poll.


End file.
